1. Field of the Invention
Situations may arise in outer space where an astronaut must make an unscheduled extra-vehicular trip outside of an orbiting space vehicle. Emergencies can arise, for example, where an astronaut must travel along the smooth surfaces of a space vehicle to reach a remote faulty device.
The general purpose of this invention is to allow an astronaut to move along the outside of the Orbiter while in space. In an emergency situation an astronaut might need to translate along the outside of the Orbiter in order to gain access to failed hardware. For example, if the Orbiter External Tank doors fail to shut properly, an astronaut would need to travel from the Payload Bay, down the side of the Orbiter, around the wing, and to the External Tank doors located on the underside of the Orbiter vehicle. Except for the translation handles in the payload bay, the outside of the Orbiter is smooth and has essentially nothing for the crew members to grasp and propel themselves along with. This invention provides a way for astronauts to stick handles to the outside of the Orbiter and to build a translation path to any area on the Orbiter vehicle.
2. Background Art
Heretofore so-called "EVA" or extra-vehicular activities which have been made by astronauts outside of an orbiting spacecraft have been typically carried out by using special devices such as hand-carried propulsion devices or back pack rocket systems to control their movements to and from remote areas of the spacecraft. Although travel inside of a space vehicle is less arduous, it is nevertheless difficult for crew members to move freely back and forth within the crew cabin or the cargo bay of a spacecraft such as the orbiter unless there are various devices or equipment along the intended travel path of the astronaut which may be grasped.